Do you have a health care proxy?

Do you have a health care proxy (also called “durable power of attorney for health care” in some states)? If no, then please read this.

Every Christian Scientist should have a health care proxy. The proxy allows you to decide your choice of care in situations where you cannot speak for yourself. It allows you to set out exactly your wishes for how to be cared for, and in whatever level of detail you want, should there be a need. Click here for other important reasons to have a proxy and for a sample proxy document.

Christian Scientists value their right to turn to God in prayer for healing. But if there’s a situation where you cannot speak for yourself, a Health Care Proxy allows you to name someone you trust to make health care decisions for you. Without a proxy, your specific health care wishes may not be carried out. Each state has different policies in place regarding what happens when no Health Care Proxy has been named. In some cases it may be the physician or the state that would be required to make health care decisions for you.

Many people assume that without a Health Care Proxy, the nearest relative can speak for an individual, but this is often not the case. In Massachusetts, for example, only the Health Care Proxy has the legal authority to make health care decisions on another’s behalf.

In this audio clip, Monty Haas asks Alison Alioto, Director of the BA’s Visiting Christian Science Nursing Service, about Health Care Proxies. Alison provides some surprising answers.

Once you have decided to execute a health care proxy, here are 3 great tips on how to find sources for a proxy, how to communicate with your health care agent, and where to distribute your copies.

If you have questions or comments on the health care proxy, we’d like to hear from you.